


A Break from the Norm

by mirelia853



Series: Elliott's Muse [2]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-09 00:53:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8869450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mirelia853/pseuds/mirelia853
Summary: When the Farmer comes into the 'Stardrop Saloon' with a broken wrist, Leah suggests an interesting solution to the farmers problems. Follow on from 'Birthday Wishes'.





	

Friday early evening and Elliott kept glancing towards the door. _No Natalia._ Admittedly he’d not said a time but everyone kind of knew when to arrive at the tavern on a Friday. It was an unspoken rule in the Valley. Sipping at his wine, he was brought back to the present by the voice of his friend, Leah.

“So no farmer yet?” Leah sat down and put a bottle of wine and extra glass on the table. 

“Not yet. And she seemed keen when I saw her.” He paused as Leah topped up his glass. “You didn’t mind me inviting her, did you?”

Leah smiled at him, “Of course not, she’s got a great personality.” He wondered if his friend was about to say something else, when he heard the door open – and Harvey the doctor walked through the door – along with a bruised Natalia who had her left arm strapped up across her body.

The two friends looked at each other in surprise and Elliott was stood up and walked towards the bar before Leah even replied. He tried to quell the panic in the pit of his stomach.

“Natalia? What happened?” His hand semi-lifted as if reaching out towards her before thinking better of it. 

Natalia pulled at her lip with her teeth, as he noticed was her habit, “Ah, I was in the mines and I tripped and fell badly on my wrist.” 

“I was just patching her up before she came here.” The doctor added.

“The mines?” Elliott asked, surprised. He had not thought the farmer would be going in the very dangerous mines. “But they’re dangerous, aren’t they?”

Harvey gave him a weary look. “They are, Elliott. And this is not the first time I’ve had to patch her up either.” 

Elliott saw the fire in her hazel eyes and could tell Natalia was close to losing her temper with Harvey. He got ready to intercept, when Natalia said, “Well thanks for the first aid, Harvey. I’ll check in when you need to look at my arm.” She nodded, grabbing her drink and walked over to Leah. 

Harvey shook his head and murmured, “Stubborn.” 

+=+=+=

When Elliott got back to the table, Leah was asking her about her broken wrist. 

“The mines have some lovely stones but I’ve never been too far down.” 

“They do. I have to get used to going down the mines, especially as winter grows closer. I still need to feed my livestock – and myself.” Natalia shrugged nonchalantly.

Elliott was not comfortable with Natalia putting herself in such danger but he could suddenly see her point of view. She either do what she could to survive or her farm goes under. “How are you going to cope with your wrist broken like that?”

Natalia frowned slightly, “Harvey seems to think it’s not a complex break so hopefully it should be on its way to healing by the time winter comes around. Perhaps I can wear a brace.”

Before Elliott could even say a word, Leah said, “Well if you need a hand with watering crops or feeding animals, we can give you a hand – can’t we, Elliott?”

He was about to answer when he felt a kick from Leah under the table. “Oh of course. We can’t see a fellow newcomer struggle when help could be had.” Perhaps a few of them, like Emily or Penny would be willing to help. The more people who help, the less time they’d need to spend at the farm. Besides, the idea of spending time with Natalia gave him a warm feeling of happiness spreading through his stomach – although perhaps that was the alcohol too. 

Natalia looked at her friends and smiled happily. “That would be good of you, at least for a week. That would be a great help.”

“In that case, I propose a toast.” Elliott smirked and raised his drink, “To our friendships. May they never fade!”

Leah rolled her eyes slightly but raised her glass and both women chorused, “To friendship!”, Natalia giggling as she joined in. 

Leah nudged her Natalia’s free arm, “Yeah, he’s always like this. The drunker he gets, the more gushing he becomes.”

Elliott pretending to be affronted. “I do not!”

Pam, in her usual spot by the bar joined in, “Yeah ya do, kid. Admit it, ya just can’t hold your drink.”

The two women laughed, Elliott joining in when he saw the smile Natalia gave him and he just could not help but smile.

He was about to pour Leah another drink when she stood up. “I’m out of here. I want to get an early night – got a great idea for an art piece.” Walking behind them, she put her hand on Natalia’s shoulder.

“I’ll come to see you tomorrow and see what help you need. Night guys.”

Elliott blinked at his friend’s swift goodbye, wondering if they’d made Leah feel uncomfortable in some way. No doubt she’d tell him if he saw her without Natalia there. 

“Look Elliott… “ He realised Natalia was talking to him and he better take notice. “It was kind of you both to offer to help me, but I know how busy you are with your book and how busy Leah is with her art. I don’t want to get in the way of that.” 

“Nat, you need help with your farm and as a friend of yours, I’d like to help you. Even just for an hour or two, we’ll both still have time to work on our own projects. And Leah would not have asked if she didn’t think she could spare the time.” Natalia was a lovely person but he realised her confidence had obviously taken a beating at some point. 

Biting her lip, Natalia responded, “Well, thank you. I’ll be honest, I’ve never known people who are so willing to help others until I moved to Pelican Town. You just don’t get that in cities. You just get lost.” She played with her glass and he wondered just how long this woman had felt lost for.

“I used to live in a big city so I know what you mean. It can be exciting – but lonely.” He hated feeling like he was always in the wrong place, that’s why he felt like he finally belonged to something when he came to this town. Elliott wanted her to feel that too. 

She nodded and cradled her glass as she asked, “But you don’t regret leaving the city, do you?” 

He gave her a big smile. “Definitely not. I’d not be talking to you if that was the case.”

Elliott saw her cheeks blush and this time there was no hesitation as she smiled back at him. “No regrets, Elliott. Plus, my dog misses you. I swear Cece has a girly crush on you.” 

He laughed and he knocked back his drink just as Gus rang the bell for last orders. “Nice to know that I have a fan.” Watching her drink the rest of her drink, he sighed. 

“I can walk you home if you like.” Elliott dropped the hint as subtly as he could. 

“Oh, I can manage thanks, but I’ll walk out with you.” Natalia said her goodbyes to people as she walked out, Elliott holding the door open for her. She grinned her thanks and started talking about her farm, what she’d need help with. It was obvious Natalia had grown fond of her new home. 

As they walked towards where they separated, he put a hand on her shoulder. “You sure I can’t walk you home?” He grinned and raised an eyebrow hopefully.

She laughed. “Always a hopeful man, hmm?” He thought for one instant she was about to kiss him, when the moment passed, the chemistry lulled. “No but I promise I won’t break any wrists on my way home. I’ll be careful, Elliott.”

And then she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek, before slipping out of reach. The smile on his face did not fade as he reached his cabin.


End file.
